Suspect
by Jemlela
Summary: DiNozzo Senior was found murdered and the FBI have their prime supsect; Tony. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW
1. Trouble

Tim and Ziva arrived to work and were surprised to see that Tony beat them there.

"Morning Tony." Tim and Ziva said in unison

"Good Morning." Tony answered not bothering to look up from his computer.

"You're here early." Tim commented.

Tony ignored him and continued to work on the cold case. Gibbs watched from the balcony outside MTAC room. It had been a very long week for his team. Tony had been withdrawn and quiet. All week Gibbs had been trying to get Tony to tell him what is bothering him, but he won't. The only thing Tony says is that he is fine. He is always fine, even if he wasn't. Tony could be lying on his deathbed and will continue to try to convince everyone that he is fine. Gibbs isn't going to give up until he gets to the bottom of Tony's current attitude.

The time creeps by extremely slowly. Tim and Ziva realize that how time usually flies by on any normal day. Tony has barely said a word to anyone all day. When the week started Tony was laughing and smiling, but as the week on the smiles became more fake and now he isn't smiling at all.

Everyone except Tony looks up when they hear the elevator ding. Gibbs masked his surprise to see the FBI walk off the elevator. Sacks walked in right behind Fornell. Both stood in front of Tony's desk. Gibbs got up and walked up to his old time acquaintance.

"What is up Tobias?"

Fornell ignores him and addresses Tony.

"Agent DiNozzo, stand up."

Tony looked at him wide eyed and did as he was told.

"Anthony DiNozzo Junior, you are under arrest for the murder of Anthony DiNozzo Senior."

Tony lowers his head and put his hands out for the handcuffs.

"Wait, what happened? What evidence do you have against Tony?" Gibbs demanded.

"In Senior's hotel room at the Adams House, we found a bottle of Scotch with arsenic in it. The only fingerprints on the bottle were Agent DiNozzo's. That put him at the crime scene. Plus the staff said that they had seen him enter Senior's room every night this week." Fornell explained.

Everyone look to Tony who wasn't offering any type of explanation. Gibbs watched Tony very carefully. He could sense that Tony is in some type of pain. He also had to buy some time to figure this out.

"Tobias, wait a moment. I want Ducky to take a look at him before you transport him." Gibbs demanded.

Sacks just rolled his eyes. He saw it for what it really is a stalling technique. Agent DiNozzo looks like the picture of health.

"Fine, but we go down with him. He will never be out of our sight until we put him in lockup." Tobias finally agreed.

* * *

><p>Gibbs walks Tony into Autopsy followed by Fornell and Sacks.<p>

"Duck" Gibbs calls out. "I want you to give Tony an exam."

"What am I looking for?" Ducky asked as he came to meet them.

"I don't know, but I want to make sure that Tony is in good condition before I even consider to allows the FBI to take him." Gibbs turns to Fornell. "And I expect that when we clear Agent DiNozzo's name and we will clear his name; that he is returned to us in the same condition he is in now."

"Okay Anthony, take your shirt and undershirt off and hop up on the table." Ducky ordered.

Tony looks from Gibbs to Ducky and back and forth. He doesn't want to remove any clothing and certainly not in front of the boys from the Hoover building.

"NOW DiNozzo; we don't have all day." Fornell demanded.

Tony slowly took off his suit jacket and placed it on the autopsy table next to the one he is expect to climb on. Tony's hands started to shake as he undid the buttons on his shirt. He finally took it off and placed it with the jacket. Gibbs and Ducky could see bruises on the lower half off his arms. Some look like they had been there for days while others look like they were still trying to form.

Fornell and Sacks watched in silence. They thought nothing about the bruises. They all end up with bruises; some days it seems like they are a part of the job description.

Tony closes his eyes as he removes his undershirt. He didn't want to see anyone's faces as they saw his secret.

All four watchers gasped as they saw the front of Tony's body. There were more bruises and bad black marks where his ribs are; indicating that his ribs had definitely been injured at some point. Ducky walks behind Tony and takes a look at his back. It was worse than his front as if that was even possible. Welts are covering his backs; some appear to be showing signs of infection while others look deep enough to need stitches.

Tony continues to stand there in silence with his eyes closed and his head down.


	2. Hospitals And Lawyers

_**Thank you to beautybells for being my beta for this story starting with this chapter. I really do appreciate your help.**_

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><p>"Jethro we will have to take him to Bethesda. I can't even begin to fix his injures. Besides we need to be careful of his infections getting worse. If Tony ends up with a staph infection, it will attack the weakest part of his body and that will be his lungs," Ducky informed everyone.<p>

Sacks wanted to think that this was just another delay tactic on their part and that Ducky was blowing everything out of portion; but he knew the doctor was not. Agent DiNozzo was in really bad shape; any moron with eyes could see that.

Tony really wanted to argue and tell them that he was fine, but he knew he wasn't and he really didn't have the strength to argue. So he stood there letting everyone talk about him as if he was not even in the room.

* * *

><p>Brad immediately responded when Tony was brought in. While Brad was treating Tony's injuries, Gibbs made a few phone calls. An hour later, when Brad came out to meet Gibb, Fornell and Sacks were waiting with the agent.<p>

"How is Tony?" Gibbs asked.

"Two broken ribs and two cracked ones. We had to sedate him to take care of his back." Brad explained.

"How long will he be out?" Fornell asked.

"Did you have to sedate him?" Sacks growled.

"He will be out two to three hours, maybe more. And yes, we did need to sedate him to cause him the least amount of pain while we took care of his back," Brad commented as he walked away.

"Okay, Sacks, you can stand guard outside his room," Tobias ordered.

"And under no circumstance are you to enter his room without me there. If you do, I will have your badge," Gibbs growled out.

"I wouldn't test him; he really will do it," Tobias warned.

* * *

><p>Gibbs was sitting out in the waiting room, wondering how it was that he missed something so serious that was going on with his agent. Normally he would have sat in the room with Tony and waited for him to wake up, but he was meeting someone. And as irritating as she could be, she could protect Tony's interests.<p>

"Mr. Gibbs, why did you want me to meet you here?" Margret Allison Hart asked as she walked up to him.

"I need you to represent someone. Agent DiNozzo, actually," Gibbs stated.

"What's the charge?" She asked quietly.

"Murder."

"Who did he supposedly kill?"

" His father, Anthony DiNozzo Senior."

Allison couldn't believe what she was hearing! DiNozzo was being charged with murdering his father!

"What evidence do they have?"

"Supposedly Senior was poisoned with arsenic. The police found a scotch bottle that had been laced with arsenic and the only prints on the bottle belong to Tony. When the police found out that their prime suspect is a federal agent they turned the case over to the FBI," Gibbs explained.

Allison stood there absorbing everything and tried to decide what her best course of action was going to be.

"Why are we meeting here at the hospital and not at the Navy Yard?" She asked, confused.

"Because Tony is here. He is injured and has been sedated," Gibbs answered vaguely. He really didn't want to get into his suspicions right now; at least not before he talked to his agent.

Allison could see that there was more to these so-called injuries than what Gibbs was letting on.

"Mr. Gibbs, if I am going to help Agent DiNozzo, I'm going to need the truth."

"We don't exactly know the truth. But my gut is telling me that his father is the one responsible for his injuries."

Allison considered this. It may actually work to her favor; an ace up her sleeve. If the one who Agent DiNozzo was accused of killing has been hurting him, they could plead self-defense.

* * *

><p>"I just checked with Dr. Brad. He thinks that Agent DiNozzo should be waking up soon. Then we will see about moving him to lock-up or at least the infirmary," Fornell told Gibbs as he walked up to him and the woman.<p>

"Tobias, meet Ms. Hart; Tony's lawyer. Allison this is Tobias Fornell, FBI," Gibbs introduced.

"Mr. Fornell, you are not removing Agent DiNozzo from this hospital until the doctors release him. We both know that Agent DiNozzo won't get the appropriate medical care in a prison's infirmary. If I have to get a court order to stop the transfer I will," Allison informed Fornell.

Fornell turned to glare at Gibbs. "Where did you find her?"

"She has been a thorn in my side during several of my cases. Every time I turn around she is there and stopping me from questioning suspects or witnesses. However, she is exactly what Tony needs to protect his best interests," Gibbs answered with a grin.

"If Agent DiNozzo did kill his father ,and I am not saying that he did, it would be considered self-defense given his current injuries," Allison said.

"No, Ms. Hart. I am afraid that he can't claim self-defense. Not with the way the murder happened. He did not kill his father during a struggle, he poisoned him. While what was happening is awful, Agent DiNozzo is a Federal Agent with many different sources of help if he would have chosen to take them. The first one and main one being the fact that he could have arrested his father for assault. But he didn't, he chose murder and that is not self-defense," Fornell argued.

"We won't know what happened until we talk to Tony. Talk, not question. You start questioning him now and like this, he will do what he does best and deflect. Then we will never get to the truth. My gut is telling me that Tony didn't do this," Gibbs spoke up trying to diffuse the situation.


	3. Questioning

_**I know that I have been slow with the updates to all of my stories. I am in the middle of moving and I have work as well. They have been taking up a lot of my time. On top of it all, I have been dealing with depression and just haven't felt much like writing. The updates will probably be slow depending on how I am feeling and how the moving is going. So please stick with me and I will try and do the best I can. **_

_**Thank you to beautybells for being my beta for this story. I really do appreciate your help.**_

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><p>Brad walked up to Fornell, Gibbs and Allison.<p>

"Tony is waking up. I want you to wait about 15 minutes before speaking to him about whatever the reason it is that the FBI is standing guard outside his hospital room. I would also like to be present at that time, too," Brad announced.

"Why do you need to be present, while we question our suspect?" Tobias snapped.

"Talk Tobias! Not question. You want to get to the truth? Then you need to not be the bastard everyone is always accusing me of," Gibbs growled.

"I simply want to be present as a doctor to monitor Tony's vital signs. If I see that the conversation is getting to be more than he can handle, I will put a stop to it," Brad answered

Fornell stopped and thought about what this doctor was saying, plus cursing the fact that the lawyer was there to making his life miserable. "Fine, but unless his health is spiraling out of control, you stay out of it."

"Agreed."

* * *

><p>Brad lead them into Tony's room. The agent was still fighting to wake up. His head is tossing back and forth. He seemed to be caught up in a nightmare and one he may never wake up from.<br>Gibbs immediately walked to Tony's side. The gruff man put one hand on Tony's forehead and the other one on his arm. Tony began to calm down at the mere touch. Something that caught everyone off guard considering what he had recently been through; but it showed just how much Tony's subconscious trusted Gibbs. No matter what.

Then, slowly, the man's eyes began to open. He blinked and Gibbs quickly removed his hands. Tony tried to sit up, but Gibbs pushed him gently back down. Brad checked his vitals.

"Welcome back to the land of living," Brad teased.

"I would never have left the land of the living; if you hadn't sedated me," Tony answered.

"Tony, we need to talk about what happened between you and your father. I am going to be here the whole time. Allison Hart is going to act as your lawyer to protect your best interest. Brad is going to make sure that our discussion isn't going to be too much for your health to handle," Gibbs assured his senior field agent.

Tony slowly nodded.

"They are going to wait 15 minutes before they start. That way you are fully awake and completely aware of your surroundings," Brad informed.

* * *

><p>15 minutes later<p>

"Are you ready to begin?" Gibbs asked.

"I suppose."

"Okay, Agent DiNozzo," Fornell began, "when was the first time you went to your father's hotel suite?"

"It was about 4 days ago. He called me at work to let me know he was in town and that he wanted to see me. I spent the rest of the day trying to decide if I should go. In the end, I did," Tony said easily.

"Why did you go?" Allison asks.

"I hadn't seen him in a long time. Since I was a child. So I was surprised to hear from him. As I was going back and forth to whether or not I should I see him. The idea that he was dying occurred to me. I started thinking that must be why he called me. I finally decided that for my own peace of mind I would go and see what he wanted."

"How did it go?" Gibbs asked concerned.

"In the beginning the tension was very thick, but manageable. He asked me to fix him a drink, so I did- A Macallan 18, three fingers and one ice, if that matters at all. He looked at me all surprised. 'You remembered,' he had said. I had so wanted to roll my eyes at that comment. Of course I remembered, if there is any drink I will never forget how to make, it is that one. I have been making it since I was 6. I couldn't read yet and I was already mixing alcohol!"Tony hissed irritated, before continuing, "after he finished the drink was when things changed. He came at me with fists flying. I hadn't brought my gun, and he was huge. When he was done, he told me to leave and demanded to see me tomorrow. It hurt a little, so when I left that I just went home and went to bed." Gibbs snorted a little. Of course DiNozzo would downplay his injuries.

"Why didn't you call me or come to my house?" Gibbs asked gruffly. He knew, of course. Tony would never admit weakness to his boss like that. Never the less, Gibbs wished that his agent would learn that not everything had to be done alone.

"Why did you go back, if you knew he would hurt you again?" Sacks asked.

"This was between him and me. Always between him and me. According to him, it was nobody else's business but ours. If I didn't do what he wanted, he would not only hurt me, but those around me. I wasn't going to risk anything happening to them because I was being selfish." Tony answered not looking anyone in the eye. Jeeze, the drugs he was being given was starting to kick in- Tony was giving up much more information than he normally would. Gibbs noticed that, too, but said nothing.

"Tony, what happened after the first day?" Allison asked.

"The same thing. I would fix him a drink, he would attack me and after he was through with me, I would go home. It was like that every day including yesterday. I may have fixed him a drink, putting my fingerprints on the bottle and the glass, but I didn't know there was arsenic in it." Tony answered in a monotone defeated voice, "But I did give him the drink. This is all my fault. I killed him, I killed my father."

Tony broke down as the last sentence hit him.

Gibbs sat down next to Tony. He wants to rub his back, to comfort him; but he doesn't want to risk hurting him. The doctors had cleaned up his back and stitched up the cuts; but it will take time for it to heal.

"Tony, listen to me. You are not at fault. You didn't know. I know that you didn't do it. You're too good, too much of a man, to kill him that way," Gibbs whispered in his ear. It was the truth: Tony wouldn't kill anyone in cold blood like that.

"Alright, everyone but Gibbs out. Mr. DiNozzo will still be here tomorrow, but he has had enough for today," Brad ordered.

Allison waited for the FBI agents to leave, before she left. She made a vow to herself: No matter what happened in the investigation, she would make sure that her client would never see the inside of a jail cell; not even temporarily; not even for a day. He had been through enough hell to last a lifetime.


	4. Investigating

_**Thank you to beautybells for being my beta for this story. I really do appreciate your help.**_

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><p>"Go to sleep, Tony. I am going to see what I can find out about how the arsenic got into the Scotch. I will try to be here when you wake up if I am not able to get back; I'll send Ducky. I promise someone will be here for you when you wake up." Gibbs said as he sat on the edge of bed.<p>

Tony nodded once.

"I won't leave until you are asleep. Your body needs all the rest it can get to heal."

"I don't think even rest can heal these wounds." Tony answered skeptically.

"Sleep, Tony. Now."

Gibbs watched as Tony drifted off to sleep, vowing to clear Tony's name before he was released. Gibbs walked out of the room and saw Allison waiting to talk with him.

"I'll do all I can." Allison promised.

"I am going to get my team to investigate the arsenic." Gibbs said as he headed out.

"Let me know what you find out. Just about anything can go a long way to form reasonable doubt for a jury; if we even get that far." Allison called after him.

Gibbs arrived at the Navy Yard, where Ducky, Palmer and Abby were waiting in the bullpen. Abby came racing to him.

"Ducky filled us in. How is Tony?" She demanded in a fast-paced rush.

"He's finally asleep. Ducky could you go over and sit with him? I don't want him to wake up alone."

"Of course Jethro," the ME assured.

"Abby, I want you to get access to Anthony DiNozzo Senior's medical results. Tony thinks that his father may have been sick. We need to find out if he was."

"Why would Tony think his father was sick?" Tim asked.

"He has had no contact with his father since he was 12. Out of the blue Senior contacts him. Why?" Gibbs responded.

Ducky and Palmer leave to sit with Tony while the rest of the team gets to work. Abby is looking for the medical records while Tim and Ziva check to see who close to Senior could have gotten the arsenic.

Several hours pass.

The team was busy working. Ducky had called to inform Gibbs that Tony and Palmer were watching a movie.

Abby came running into the bullpen, "I've got something!"

"What is it Abbs?" Gibbs asked.

"Senior's medical records showed that he had been diagnosed with cancer. He was supposed to have started chemo; instead he came up here and now he is dead."

"Why didn't the city ME find out that he had cancer?" McGee asks.

"They found the arsenic and probably quit looking."

"Okay, so we know that Senior really was sick. He probably wanted one last shot at destroying his son's life. Can we trace the arsenic back to him?" Gibbs asked.

"Cancer is treatable right. So why not get treatment?" Ziva asked.

"Because while cancer is treatable; the treatment is said to be worse than the disease. When I was a teenager, I had a friend who had leukemia. She was always so sick, all her hair fell out. Most days after starting chemo, she couldn't even get out of bed. She couldn't eat and if she did manage something like soup, she couldn't keep it down." Abby explained.

"So Senior didn't want to go through that instead he puts the sticky gun in Tony's hand, so to speak," Ziva said.

"It's smoking gun, and yeah that could be what happened." McGee corrected.

"But we need to prove it. Did Senior get his hands on arsenic?" Gibbs pointed out.

"There is no evidence of that; but there is also no evidence that Tony purchased the arsenic either. And what is really hinky, is that the only prints on the Scotch bottle are Tony's. The bottle had been wiped clean before Tony went there and picked up the bottle." Abby explained.

"That doesn't mean anything the FBI would argue he brought the bottle with him." McGee pointed out.

"Don't say that!" Abby yelled, "The bottle was wiped clean. Why would Tony wipe the bottle and then turn around and put fingerprints on it?"

"Abbs, calm down. What makes you think the bottle was wiped clean?" Gibbs asked. He had a feeling as to why, but he didn't want to get his hopes up. Facts would clear Tony; hope would not.

"If I was to examine a bottle of your bourbon, there would be so many prints on the bottle that it would be hard to determine one person's fingerprints. You buy your bourbon at the store where everyone else does. Not only would your prints be on the bottle, there would be the one who stocks the shelf and the cashier's at the very minimum. With no other fingerprints on the Scotch bottle, where did the bottle come from?"Abby said logically.

"I'll inform Allison,"Gibbs said.

"Allison?" Ziva asked.

"Yes, Ms Allison Hart. I hired her to protect Tony's best interest," Gibbs explained.

Ziva was silent.

Gibbs was in the waiting room at Bethesda, waiting for Allison and Tobias.

"You called this meeting, so tell us: did you find something interesting?" Allison asked.

"I did. Senior had cancer and was supposed to start chemo when he came here. Also that bottle of Scotch was wiped clean before Tony picked it up to make the drink that he had been making all week long. He had no reason to suspect that there was arsenic in it. Here is what my team has come up with: Senior had cancer and didn't want to go through the treatment; he figured a way to kill himself and make Tony take the blame. He put the arsenic in the Scotch bottle and then wiped the bottle clean. Tony comes in and immediately pours the drink." Gibbs explains.

"Maybe DiNozzo wiped the bottle clean?" Tobias pointed out.

"Right, he wipes the bottle and then picks it up. That's a bit backwards." Allison added.

"You have no case, so you might as well drop the charges." Gibbs finished.

"Fine. We will drop the charges." Tobias agreed and left.

"Thank you for everything Allison," Gibbs said.

"No problem. I'm just glad everything worked out," she said with a smile.

Gibbs watched Allison leave with a resigned look. Now he had to pick up the pieces of his broken agent and friend. Gibbs knew that, in time, the physical damage will heal. The emotional damage is a whole different story.


	5. Road to Recovery

_**Thank you to beautybells for being my beta for this story. I really do appreciate your help.**_

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><p>Gibbs saw Brad as he headed to Tony's room.<p>

"How is he doing?" Gibbs asked.

"What is going on in the murder case?" Brad countered.

"It's over and the charges have been dropped. When can Tony go home?" Gibbs said.

"If he stays with someone, and he is resting, we can release him today. Ducky will have to keep a close eye on his broken ribs and his back." Brad informed the NCIS Agent.

"He will stay with me and I will make sure that he is resting. I know that Duck will look after him," Gibbs nodded.

"If Tony develops a small fever that is okay: treat it with Tylenol. If it hits 101 degrees, bring him back in," the doctor said.

Gibbs nodded and walked into Tony's room while Brad went to start his discharge. Palmer and Tony were talking while Ducky watched them from the chair.

"I have great news and even better news. Which do you want first?" Gibbs asked Tony.

"The even better news," Tony said as if the choice was obvious.

"The charges have been dropped. You didn't kill your father. You were right he was sick. It was cancer. He was supposed to start chemotherapy when he decided to come here instead. We believe that he put the arsenic inside the Scotch bottle," Gibbs said. He knew the information could be difficult to process.

"That seems too easy; too simple. Are you sure it's over?" Tony questioned.

"The FBI can't prove intent. The only prints on the Scotch bottle were yours, because the bottle had been wiped clean, which is why we think that Senior put the arsenic in and then wiped the bottle. Secondly, if it went to trial, Tobias would have to testify and I don't think he wants to go up against Allison with such flimsy evidence."

Tony didn't want to talk about it anymore so he decided to change the subject. "What is the great news?"

"Brad started your discharge. You will be staying with me. Ducky can look after your injuries,"Gibbs said.

"Of course I will," Tony said in a slightly disgruntled tone. Gibbs mimed a head slap, to wich Tony mimed ducking. "Sorry, Boss."

* * *

><p>3 weeks later<p>

Tony was still staying at Gibbs' house. His back had completely healed; his ribs were on the mend.

"How's Tony doing?" Abby asked as she enteed Gibbs' house for the barbeque.

"He's resting in his room," Gibbs said.

"But he will come down when the barbeque starts, right?"

"I don't know; these past 3 weeks have been very ** him. He won't talk about his father and what had happened. Every time I bring it up, he changes the subject or shuts down completely. You know how Tony can talk for hours and never actually say anything?" Gibbs beginan

"Yeah."

"Now he hardly talks. It is like we changed roles and he has become the mute one."

"He will be alright, right Bossman?" Abby pleaded. Tony, mute? Gibbs, talkative?

"I really don't know. The physical damage is healing, but I'm sure the emotional damage has yet to start. I don't know if it will ever heal."

* * *

><p>Tony put the book was he reading down and walked up to the window. He could see McGee at the grill. He knew that he was guest of honor at this barbeque, and he wanted to put his mask back on and pretend that this last month hadn't happened. Why couldn't his father just have stayed away?<p>

"Well, I might as well take a shower and go down. The sooner I go down the sooner they can all leave me alone," the agent muttered to himself.

Tony was standing in the shower when the events of the last month hit him like a train wreck and, for the first time in a very long time, he began to cry. Gibbs, who had been coming up to check on Tony, e heard the sobbing. The special agent opened the door carefully to find Tony sitting in the bathtub as the water still came down on him, crying his heart out. Gibbs was torn. He was happy to see Tony finally letting go of all that emotions he has kept bottled up, but the sight was breaking his heart. Gibbs walked over to the bathtub and turned off the water and he grabed the towel to cover Tony.

"It is okay. Let it all out," Gibbs urged as he sat down on the floor next to Tony, even though Tony was still in the tub. Gibbs kept one hand on Tony's shoulder and the other one on his back.

To Gibbs, it seemed like an eternity before Tony finally stopped.

"You ready to get out of the tub?" Gibbs asked gently.

Tony nodded, standing up slowly and wrapping the towel around his waist as he stood up. Gibbs helped him step out of the tub and brought him back to his room.

"You feel better now?" Gibbs asked from the hall. There was no response. Once Tony was dressed, Gibbs entered the room to see Tony sitting on the bed. Gibbs sat next to him.

"I always knew he hated me. I just don't know what it is that I did that was so wrong. Actually that is not true; I know what I did. I was born; that alone was enough of a reason," Tony said to the carpet.

"Tony, that isn't true. A lot of people are glad to know you and you know it. I have never regretted bringing you here from Baltimore PD. You are an incredible person and wonderful investigator. Your father is the loser. He never gave himself the chance to see how wonderful you are. Even today I still see how much potential you have; you are the best agent I have ever worked with." Gibbs answered. The gooshy words kind of creeped the older man out, but Tony needed to hear it. And Abby wasn't around.

"I don't know who I am. I can't just put up the mask and pretend that this never happened," Tony said uncertainly, also a little concerned about Gibbs' mental status. Gibbs was being nice!

"Then don't put up your mask and let your friends help you. We are all here for you and that is never going to change. You deal with this however you have to," the mentor said.

Tony nodded and let Gibbs lead him downstairs to his friends. They all gathered in a group hug. Tony would have started to cry again, except he was all cried out. But for the first time in a long time he was truly happy.

* * *

><p>Tony returned to work, desk duty. There were moments where he was joking and laughing. Other moments he was quiet and withdrawn. This was the new Tony, a combination of his mask half on and half off. The team decideed that they can live with this Tony as long as he was healing emotionally. Gibbs knew that it would take a long time before he was completely healed emotionally; but he was on the road to recovery and for that Gibbs was grateful.<p> 


End file.
